Fishing kayak rigging part #2 - PVC trolley

So 25mm PVC tube is not really 25mm in internal diameter for god knows what reason...

I went back to Bunnings for an exchange and took the 20mm instead, which are about 23mm...

After an hour of calculating the dimensions, sawing the tubes with multiple adjustments, I finally built my kayak trolley in about an hour.

Here is the result:

I just need to apply some PVC cement to finalize it all. I will also probably buy some pool noodles and wrap it around the horizontal top tube to protect the kayak's hull.

All these DIY creations are not my designs, I found some tutorial on the internet and adapted them to my needs.

My kayak fishing adventures begin

After several months looking around gathering for info and thinking if it would be something for me, I decided, with the approval of the missus, to buy a fishing kayak. I was hesitating between getting an inflatable boat and a kayak with a budget of about $380.

There are pros and cons for each.

The inflatable boat does not require space for storage and would allow more than one person on it. But on the other hand it takes times between parking the car and getting on the water. Being inflatable means there also is a risk of getting punctured. A friend of mine just bought one and it just confirmed that it is not for me.

A kayak does require storage place and for transportation, but I personally feel safer on it. And paddling with a kayak is easier too. For my budget I can only get a single seater 'yak but I'll be on my own most of the time. If the missus wanna join we can always change turn or hire one. 

So there I went going to that warehouse that had a kayak in discount for $320, the reason was people usually don't like its color, camo finish sells quick but not those blue uni-color ones.

The only thing that bugs me a bit is storage. But it was easy enough to take it into the unit in the second bedroom we are using for storage. And owning a Honda Odyssey, the 'yak can fit inside. I'll get a roof rack anyway cuz once inside the car, only me and my son on his child seat can be inside.

Now it's time to get some safety gears. I will build my own flag pole with an old fishing rod, I need a PFD, setup some first aid kit and other stuffs. For those interested in kayak safety, here is a great website:

http://modernkayakfishing.com/articles/safety

I'm lookng forward my first kayak fishing session!

Re-spooling my Alvey reel

After using the 630 A1 "Surf Champion" my cousin gave me, I decides to change the line. The current one is a high visibility yellow fluorescent that I find awesome as I can see it event fishing at night from the beach. So I went for a Talema Super Hi-Vis 6.6 Kg 500m.

The packaging is cool, the spool is in a plastic box you can reuse for tackles.

What surprised me is I wasn't expecting a thin line it's a 14.5 lb and seems like a 6 or 8. Usually 15lb mono are around 0.33 - 0.38mm this line is 0.23mm, good for distance casting.

So as Alvey recommends, I dunked the spool in water before reeling it on the reel. Trying to make the line at an angle facing out for easier unspooling when casting:

That's it, ready to go. One more thing:

Ball bearing swivel and snap swivel for twist management and ease of rig change. The swivels are rater 15 and 10 Kg, more than the line rating but they are the smallest I could find.

The Australian Salmons are back in Curl Curl

I'm switching sleep cycle again and this is my first sunrise day. Low tide at around 7.23am, got to Manly at 5.45am but got only undersized Tailors so I drove off to South Curl Curl. On the rocks at 6.30am and I noticed there were lot of fishermen today on the rocks 200 meters on my left. One of the guy was fishing with live baits and caught 3 fish in less than half an hour, seems to much of an easy fight to be king fish, so I think it must have been sambos.

20 minutes after my first cast, the line straighten and my rod tipped down, fish on! Seeing a jump on top of the water, that is definitely a salmon. He then went straight to the rocks, damn! So I let go of some line to release the pressure and he turn back to the sea, after a nice fight, I finally landed a nice one.

Then a second hookup, but unfortunately this time my sinker got stuck on some oyster on the rocks, after a moment I managed to have the sinker line to break still keeping the fish on the dropper line, but that was too late, the line above the hook was already damaged and with a little pull it snapped, releasing the fish back to the ocean. Good for him :-)

After a pretty quiet beginning of Spring, it's great to see them back on the Northern Beaches!

Bondi Beach saves Spring fishing sessions

I joined FishRaider forums recently, amongst the members that commented on my Facebook Page, it turned out that one of them, Duong is a relative of a good friend from France. The world is small as the say.

Yesterday Duong decided to do a session in Bondi Beach targetting Sambos. I was tired from waking up at 5am (unplanned), but decided to join Duong anyway. For the whole of this Spring, all I caught were undersized whiting, sharks and undersized Tailor, so I was really hopping this session would be a success.

I got there at around 8.23pm but found that somehow the rig I prepared got tangled with a sabiki rig that slipped out its bag. So I wasted time trying to undo the tangle to end up tying a new one.

Duong arrived not long after with a sea popper rig and he too managed to get it tangled. There are days like this :-P

Rig done, I casted a fillet of Yellowtail with my Alvey rod and the 6000BCVRRT reel from my mate. The rig was a paternoster rig with a single twisted dropper loop with a two size 3/0 ganged hooks and a 3oz no-roll sinker.

Right after my cast my friend's bait net and the rod holder used to secure it to the sand got washed by a big shore break. So I dropped my pants and was going to go in the water to fetch it. But then my friend who then was holding my rod yelled fish on and it was bloody heavy. So I ran back and continue the fight. After few pulls and jumps, it was a nice 59.5cm Sambo!

Second cast, not even a minute after the bait touched water another big Sambo!!

After that it was my friend's turn to have his reel's fish alert hissssing through the night. Two other Sambos, one on full pilchard one on yellowtail fillet, and a Shovelnose Shark.

The other fishermen who arrived a bit later were not as lucky. The two main reasons being I was the first on the beach and made camp right in front of a nice big gutter, probably the only decent one on the night. And then when they arrived, I think the school was on its was out and my buddy was just placed right on their way to catch the two last one we got.

What a night! That was my first decent session of this Spring. I was a good decision, I was a bit sleepy before leaving home but the fish did wake me up hehehe. At the end we've lost the rod holder (DIY) and the bait net, but the 5 fish made up for it, no regret from any of us.

Cooking side, one of the Australian Salmon will go in the freezer, the other one will be partly eaten as Sashimi and the Shovelnose Shark is nice in Vietnamese sweet and sour fish soup.

We are having our neighbour from downstairs for a fishy diner tonight.